Depth terrain guide

Overview

Depth terrain turns a flat picture into land you can turn around in 3D.

A 3D island with blue sea, sand, green grass and forest, grey mountains and white snow
The sample map, read in Map mode, with water at the sea line.

In Photo mode it reads the picture as a heightmap: the brighter a pixel, the higher the land stands there.

In Map mode it reads the colours of a drawn game map as ground types. Sea stays low, sand and grass sit just above it, and rock and snow climb into mountains.

You can keep a PNG of the view or an OBJ of the land. From a map you can also save files that game engines and 3D apps open.

Open Depth terrain Start here

In this guide

  1. StartWhat you need and your first land in five steps.
  2. Every controlEvery control in the panel, one line each.
  3. Three looksThree pictures and the settings that made them.
  4. Keep your workThe PNG, the OBJ, and the files for your game.
  5. HelpWhat to do when something goes wrong.

It runs in your browser with WebGL 2. Nothing is uploaded. A mouse, a trackpad and a finger all work.